One of these days…

The Iranian war against the United States dates back to the 1979 seizure of the American embassy in Tehran. During the Bush administration we frequently noted that the government of Iran was responsible for the maiming and death of many of our armed forces serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. These acts of war have gone unanswered.

Only last month, Admiral Mullen and Secretary of Defense Panetta complained of Iranian responsibility for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq. “[The Iranians) have been warned about continuing it…that if they keep killing our troops, that will not be something we will sit idly by and watch,” Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Mullen sounded a little bit like Ralph Kramden waving his fist while making one of his empty threats against Alice: “One of these days…”

Now according to the Obama administration, it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Iranian government plotted to commit acts of war against the United States on American soil. The Washington Posts roundup of comments on the plot doesn’t use the word “audacity,” but a reader may conclude that the alleged plot is even more audacious than the audacity of hope.

Secretary of State Clinton issued a statement that must really leave the mullahs quaking. She said the United States would work with its allies to “send a very strong message that this kind of action, which violates international norms, must be ended.”

Clinton sat down with the AP to explain: “This really, in the minds of many diplomats and government officials, crosses a line that Iran needs to be held to account for.”

So what does she have in mind? “We are actively engaged in a very concerted diplomatic outreach to many capitals, to the U.N. in New York, to not only to explain what happened so we can try to pre-empt any efforts by Iran to be successful in what would be their denial and their efforts to try to deflect responsibility but so that we also enlist more countries in working together against what is becoming a clearer and clearer threat” from Iran, Clinton said.

Clinton added: “We want to reassure our friends that the complaints against Iran are well-founded,” she said.